Moving on from West End

We spent four very restful days at the Old Bahama Bay Resort and Yacht Harbour. After our Gulf Stream crossing we thought we had deserved it! Memorable moments included Bob and Carole's champagne and caviar 'reception' on the beach, a bicycle ride to the settlement of West End, and a bus trip to Port Lucaya, the shopping area adjacent to Freeport, on the west coast of Grand Bahama Island. Looking to the right as we drove along the road into Freeport we were amazed to see huge cruise ships towering above the sparse trees and sandy scrub which bordered the road. Our bus driver, Carmen, explained that these ships were in dry docks in Freeport for repairs and updates. Freeport used to be a busy tourist centre, with a bustling 'International Market Place' and a thriving casino and hotel complex. This changed with the last major hurricane, 'Wilma'. Damage from this vicious windstorm is still very evident. Now Port Lucaya has been developed into a shopping and restaurant area, and a marina. Judging from the bus loads of visitors pouring into the area, it is a focus for cruise ship passengers. We bought some trinkets, and had a delicious shrimp lunch. On the way back, Carmen took us to a large and well-stocked grocery store. It was interesting to compare some of the prices. A large block of cheddar cheese, for example was very much cheaper than in Canada.
Maybe it was a result of martinis served at Southern Vectis' martini party on Wednesday afternoon, but later that night, rather on the spur of the moment, but also keeping in mind the deteriorating weather forecasts of cold fronts and fiercesome winds to come, we decided it was now or never to start heading south towards the warmer and calmer climes of the Exuma Islands. So, having scrambled to put in our navigational waypoints early the next day, 'Sea Change', 'Somewhere in Time' and 'Southern Vectis' set out. The first leg of our trip was travelled very tentativly through the narrow and shallow 'Indian Rock Channel', just off West End. After safely passing this initial test we headed north-east for about 45 nautical miles to our overnight anchorage at Great Sale Cay. We set off at around 8:30 a.m. and arrived around 5 p.m. The days are short at the moment - the sun rises at about 7:05 a.m. and sets around 5:45 p.m. All boaters try to be at their overnight anchorages before dark as the Bahama Islands rarely offer the luxury of a buoyed channel. The wind had increased during the day and those with sails managed some good sailing. The anchorage was a crescent of water surrounded by the 'arms' of an uninhabited low-lying cay (pronounced 'key'). Two other boats shared this very welcome shelter with us, and each had some useful advice to tell us over our VHF radios. The next morning we set off at 8 a.m. determined to make it as far east along the Little Bahama Bank as possible. The winds during the day reached 25 knots from the north east, and the seas were a little lumpy at times, but luckily we were sheltered from the full force of the Atlantic by the barrier islands. As evening drew closer we decided to call in to Manjack Cay, which had been recommended by one of our friendly neighbours last night. It was a long and tiring day, fighting the heavy winds to keep on course. Bill and I relaxed with a gin and tonic, and yesterdays' cooked pork tenderloin and salad. A good day, and it was good that it was now over and we had covered at least another 45 miles.....but our day wasn't over! At 9 p.m. our anchor alarm, which we had luckily remembered to set on the GPS, started buzzing urgently. We went on deck. It was very windy and we were swinging wildly......that must have been the problem....the wide arc of the swing. So we set the alarm for a wider angle and settled back with our books, feeling sleepy and relaxed. But our relaxation was short-lived. The anchor alarm just would NOT keep quiet. On deck once again, in the pitch black, we admitted to ourselves that we were dragging our anchor, particularly as we were now west, instead of east of 'Somewhere in Time', and moving closer to the side of the bay, which we could just make out as a darker mass. Well, to cut a long story short, Bill saved the day. Under his masterful guidance, we managed to pull up the anchor, move the boat, and put down not just one anchor this time, but two! My decision to stay on watch all night gave out at 10:30 p.m., but I woke early to hurry on the dawn. When the sky lightened over the east and I went on deck and saw we were still in the same place, I crept back to bed and slept until the smell of bacon and eggs sizzling in the pan brought me back to consciousness. Today we have a 'lay day'. We have all dinghied to the cay and walked along a trail to the beautiful sweeping Atlantic beach. This evening Eileen and John from 'Somewhere in Time' have invited us for a pot luck dinner on board. This all means that we will be anchored here for another night! Keep your fingers crossed that this one will be less eventful than the last.